More of wot I have heard…

Amy Macdonald – This is the Life

It is nice to see more and more talented youngster who can actually play instruments and write a decent song. The new wave of singer songwriters are take influences from both new and old looking at current musicians and revisiting old standards. I think we are very lucky at the moment with the choice and quality of talent out there and Amy Macdonald is one of that group that is well worth investing in.

‘It's all Pete Doherty's fault. No, it's down to Red Hot Chili Peppers. Or do we finger Fran Healy of Travis? Nah, sod it, let's blame Ewan McGregor and Jake Gyllenhaal. They're movie stars, proper ones. They're used to shouldering serious responsibility.

If it weren't for these artists, Amy Macdonald wouldn't be the teen-sensation singer-songwriter she is now. She'd still be kicking round Glasgow, an undergraduate at university, studying social sciences with an emphasis on geography. The highlight of her year would continue to be her annual pilgrimage to T In The Park, whereat she and her mates would party under canvas for 48 hours, forget their own names, and maybe see some bands. Amy Macdonald would still be a nobody, instead of a somebody out of whom great songs just flood. Amy was 12 when her world wobbled on its axis. She was on a family outing to Rothesay on Scotland's west coast. Her gran gave her some money to treat herself. Instead of buying a tenner's worth of ice-cream she bought a CD: The Man Who by Travis. It was the first album Amy ever owned. She was blown away: simple songs (Driftwood, Why Does It Always Rain On Me?, Writing To Reach You), sung brilliantly, roaring powerfully in her ears and in her head.

Inspired, adolescent Amy picked up one of the guitars her dad had lying round the house. He never played them; he'd never been in a band and had only 'mucked about' on the instrument with his pals when he was younger. And Amy just taught herself how to play the thing. There were no genetic influences, nor even lessons. Just a good ear and few chord patterns found on the internet. And a huge, burning, raging desire to write and play songs.’


Pink Martini – Hey Eugene!

We were first introduced to Pink Martini by a friend who had their first album, Sympathique, and we intrigued by the diverse sound. When I heard the title track of their latest album I was hooked. Every song is different and shows the depth of talent that forms this ensemble group as they perform songs with French, Arabic, Japanese lyrics, orchestral, hot club, tea dance style with influences to many to identify. This band is captivating and eclectic and well worth trying if you like your music with a bit of class.

‘“Pink Martini is like a romantic Hollywood musical of the 1940s or 50s – but with a global perspective which is modern,” says founder and artistic director Thomas M. Lauderdale. “We bring melodies and rhythms from different parts of the world together to create something which is new and beautiful.”

The Portland, Oregon-based ‘little orchestra’ was founded in 1994 by Lauderdale, a Harvard graduate and classically trained pianist, to play political fundraisers for progressive causes such as civil rights, the environment, affordable housing and public broadcasting. In the years following Pink Martini grew from four musicians to its current twelve, and has gone on to perform its multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Canada and the United States.’


Richard Hawley – Lady’s Bridge

I have heard of this artist for sometime, lauded by music critics as one of the country’s best singer-songwriters for those in the know. Richard Hawley is an artist that does not manufacture songs but hand crafts instant classics that once heard seem to have always been there.

‘In an era where next big things, scenes and in-sounds flash by and even our favourite tunes are listened to on shuffle we need music that will stick around for a while, albums that we can go on listening to in one sitting until they wear out like previous generations had done with their Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles and The Smiths records.

Something real. Something timeless. Something proper.

Just as he did with the Mercury nominated Coles Corner, Richard Hawley has risen once again to the challenge of quality in a cheap thrills economy. Recorded between January and June this year his new album Lady’s Bridge is filled with enough classics to last you a lifetime. Great music doesn’t need hype, it makes its own friends. And Lady’s Bridge will find plenty.’